Re: The Minds of Almantha

As a whole I really like this setting. It's simple to understand at a glance, but there's obviously some bit of mystery built in with regards to the Minds. A few things:

Originally Posted by Landis963

Elves

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Elves perhaps have changed the most from the pointy-eared humans familiar to most of Therinos. Once no different from Tolkien standard elves, Almanthan elves have become plant beings due to their close proximity to the earth magic nexus of Dekonio, closer in appearance to dryads than any other living creature. As a result of this, they no longer need anything other than sunlight and physical nightly contact with soil, although many will indulge their sense of taste for the sensation and for politeness' sake. In a pinch, food can also provide the nutrients if suitable ground is not available.

I rather like these elves. They remind me a lot of elves I did once, where they would changed their skin to reflect the type of ground they walked on. So they'd turn beige-yellow on sand dunes, red while walking on red clay, and dark if they were on fertile soil or a swamp. Very different from the usual crop of pointy eared immortals.

Originally Posted by Landis963

Hybrid spells

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However, there are some spell schools which do not fall under the four elements - Necromancy spells, for example, require both the services of an earth caster (to animate the body) and a fire mage (to call back a soul to act as a control measure, in the way a brain controls a body). The relevant subsets are listed below:

Necromancy - Earth and Fire

Earth and Water

Earth and Air

Scrying - Air and Water

Planar Shifting - Air and Fire

Planar Summoning - Fire and Water

Earth and Water create Abjuration? The water carries the spells, the earth cements them in reality. And Enchantment is represented through Earth and Air. Again, the Air is the suggestion, the Earth is a compulsion to act as you say. Maybe this helps, I'm not sure.